How Kentucky became a surprising leader in flattening the curve on COVID-19

id=”article-body” class=”row” section=”article-body”> Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear celebrates with supporters on election night. John Sommers II/Getty Images For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO website. As states in the US South and diy mouth mask Midwest see their coronavirus infection rates grow, the rate remains notably low in a state with some of the worst health outcomes nationally. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has drawn bipartisan praise for navigating the outbreak in a calm and decisive manner, including declaring a state of emergency in early March that gave local officials time to help residents as well as school, health and other officials protect and plan against the global pandemic.  And his calm, fact-based daily news briefings, which have drawn comparisons to President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous fireside chats, have earned Beshear a new status as a sex symbol on social media.

On Tuesday, Kentucky officials reported the state’s fourth death due to COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, and said the state’s total number of confirmed infections had reached 163. Despite officials’ repeated admonitions against social gatherings, some in the state still don’t take the risk seriously. At least one of the latest infections — that of an adult in their 20s — originated at a “coronavirus party.”  Now playing: Watch this: Coronavirus lockdown: Why social distancing saves lives 5:41 In comparison, neighboring Indiana had reported 365 confirmed cases and 12 deaths by Monday.

Tennessee, which has 2.3 million more residents than Kentucky, had 517 confirmed cases and one death as of Sunday. “We’ve seen states take very different approaches,” Beshear, 42, said in a briefing on Sunday. “We have already done a whole lot of what other states are doing in one major — and sometimes it seems scary — order.”  Asked this week whether his administration has seen positive results from its efforts, Beshear said it was still early.

“We are in the midst of it, and I believe we are taking aggressive and important steps that are, and will, save people’s lives. But it will be really hard to know exactly how we have done until we are further through it and have more data,” he told reporters. “Our numbers aren’t necessarily jumping as fast as some other ones are.” Coronavirus updates Gig workers say sick pay for coronavirus is hard to come by What coronavirus means for our sex lives Homemade face masks: 7 critical truths you need to know now China will rerelease Avengers and Avatar to revive cinemas As of last week, state public health leaders reported that about 7% of COVID-19 tests conducted in Kentucky had come back positive.

The state’s junior senator, Rand Paul, also disclosed that he tested positive for the virus, becoming the first member of the Senate to receive such a diagnosis. As reported by local CBS affiliate WYMT, Kentucky is faring average among surrounding states, with a lower percentage than Indiana’s 20% and Tennessee’s 27% positive-test rate.